


Scented

by Destielshipper4Cas



Series: Scent(less) [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Dean, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst with a Happy Ending, Barebacking, Bottom Castiel, Breeding Kink, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, Fertility Issues, Heat Sex, Hurt Castiel, Hurt/Comfort, Impregnation Kink, Infertility, Knotting, M/M, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Omega Castiel, Omega Verse, Past Abuse, Pregnant Castiel, Protective Dean Winchester, Scenting, Smut, Top Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2020-12-13 20:06:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21003413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destielshipper4Cas/pseuds/Destielshipper4Cas
Summary: Cas could not believe that a sweet and sexy alpha like Dean was interested in him—burned and barren omega, social outcast with an abusive ex-mate.To make their new relationship work, they have to figure out how to deal with Cas’ insecurities, society’s prejudices, and a surprise here and there along the way…Sequel to Scentless.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to **“[Scentless](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20345617).”** You might want to read that one first for this story to make sense.

Cas was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He still couldn’t quite believe that Dean didn’t care about his status. It was pretty obvious to Cas that he didn’t deserve any of this. An omega like him did not get an alpha like Dean. But he would take what Dean was willing to give because for once, he was happy.

The alpha liked to spoil him—something that Cas hadn’t even known was a thing alphas did. With Michael, he had always had to wait on him hand and foot. That’s what normal alpha-omega relationships were like… right? Making sure the alpha’s every need was met.

Whenever Cas told Dean a tidbit about what his life with his ex-mate had been like, the alpha would launch into a rant about what a dick Michael was. So, maybe that wasn’t what a normal alpha-omega relationship was like, after all…

As an added plus, Cas didn’t need to apply the scent blockers anymore and could even give the ones he had hoarded back to Dean, who couldn’t stop laughing when Cas showed him his huge stash and then insisted on paying him the money back.

As if being together with the alpha of his dreams wouldn’t be enough, Cas would also only be working at the Gas-N-Sip for another month. When he had let it slip how unhappy he was working there, Dean had pulled some strings. As an alpha with the right connections, anything was possible—including getting an omega a job interview at a company that mostly hired betas.

Dean insisted that it had been all Cas—he had had all the necessary qualifications and made a good impression, but Cas suspected that Dean had had something to do with him getting the position.

So, things were going great, both on a professional and a personal level. They went out on dates, which were a lot of fun, or stayed in to cuddle, scent each other, and lazily make out on the couch.

Only… That was all they ever did.

With Michael, Cas had never really been on a date because it had been sort of an arranged mating. But Michael _had_ demanded intercourse as soon as they had been alone.

Dean on the other hand didn’t give any indication that he would like to do more than cuddle. Since Cas still kept his scent gland hidden whenever he could, he didn’t think it was because of how hideous it looked. Sure, Dean had said he didn’t care, but _every_one cared about these things.

The only other logical explanation Cas had come up with was that his scent was not strong enough. Scent was even more important when it came to physical intimacy than appearance.

That’s why Cas had bought scent enhancers after all. He was planning on using them to seduce Dean next week when the alpha wanted to show him another one of his favorite movies at his place.

Unfortunately, it didn’t come to that.

Dean had just brought him home from karaoke night and as usual, they would finish the evening with a make out session that would end with Dean going home and Cas taking a cold shower or alternatively his fake knot.

When Dean excused himself to the bathroom, Cas had completely forgotten about the scent enhancers that he had not hidden away. As soon as Dean returned, the bottle in hand, Cas knew that his seduction plan had been found out.

Still, Dean didn’t have any reason to look so angry. He should be thankful that Cas was trying to make himself sexier for him.

“You’re using enhancers now?” Dean asked, a frown on his face.

Cas shrugged his shoulders. “I thought you might like it.”

Sighing, Dean put the bottle down on the table in front of the couch. “You don’t have to do that. I mean, yeah, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like your scent getting stronger these last few days, but you smell so awesome even without the enhancers, I really couldn’t care…”

“I haven’t taken them yet,” Cas interrupted him, not quite sure what Dean was on about.

“…less,” Dean finished and then furrowed his brows. “What?”

“I wanted to use them in a more romantic setting. That’s the first bottle I got.” Cas motioned towards the full, unused bottle as evidence.

Dean still had a slightly baffled expression on his face. “Oh. Well. Really?” He lifted his nose in the air and scented in Cas’ direction. Then he shot Cas a suspicious glance. “How come your scent is so strong then?”

When Cas didn’t have an answer to that—or at least not a better one than ‘You’re imagining things,’ which he preferred to keep to himself—Dean went on, “Anyway. You still don’t get that I like you just the way you are, huh? No high collars—” He motioned towards Cas’ hidden neck, “—no enhancers needed.”

“Then why don’t you want to…” Cas made a gesture with his hands that he thought very clearly conveyed ‘mount me.’

Apparently, Dean did not agree because he raised his eyebrows at Cas and shook his head slightly, indicating that he had no idea what Cas was talking about.

“You never get… excited when we scent and cuddle,” Cas tried to phrase it diplomatically.

“Of _course_ I get ‘excited’!” Dean immediately objected. Then he paused and asked, “We’re talking sexual arousal here, right?” When Cas nodded, he repeated, “Of course I get excited. I was just waiting for you to make the first move when you’re ready.”

That was a nice sentiment, but Cas knew that Dean was lying and he wasn’t about to let him get away with the excuse. “I’ve never once smelled alpha arousal,” he deadpanned.

At least Dean seemed embarrassed to have been caught in his lie. He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact. Then he mumbled, “I might have used some blockers of my own to mask my arousal.”

Cas had heard about scent blockers that were designed to conceal alpha arousal. He had thought they were mostly for assbutt alphas who had the hots for their omega secretary and didn’t want to use normal blockers that would hide their whole scent. Alphas rarely if ever used scent blockers. Why would they want to hide their scent and thus the fact that they were an alpha?

He smiled brightly when he felt relief wash over him at this admission. Still, he couldn’t help but tease Dean a bit for it. “You know, I like you just the way you are—arousal included.”

That got Dean to roll his eyes, even though his cheeks were still a bit pink. “Yeah, well, see if I care enough to treat you like a gentleman next time.” Before Cas could tell him that he wouldn’t mind that, Dean went on, “Okay, no more enhancers or blockers or shit like that, deal?”

“Deal,” Cas agreed. “And just so you know? I’ve been ‘ready’ for a while now.”

* * *

Adding sex to their repertoire of expressing intimacy was _great_. Dean had always liked sex, but with Cas, everything felt so much more intense for some reason.

That first time, Dean fucked Cas very slowly and gently for a long time. He was content to just lie on top of his omega, buried deep inside of him and lazily making out with him. After fucking tenderly for so long, the orgasm came almost as an afterthought, his pleasure and release washing over Dean and into Cas’ body the moment Cas came for the second time.

After, when they were cuddling on the bed, Dean spooning his omega from behind, Cas mumbled, his tone surprised, “That didn’t even hurt.”

“Stop it, you’re making me blush with such high praise,” Dean replied, but internally, he was cursing Michael and the way he had treated Cas.

“No, I mean, it was awesome,” Cas quickly clarified, turning around in Dean’s arms so that he was facing Dean. “I just meant… it never even hurt for a second.”

From then on, their scenting and make-out sessions almost always led to them snugglefucking. Dean _loved_ cuddling with Cas while they were naked—and then slowly start teasing Cas until he was slick enough for Dean to just slide right in. He would continue to cuddle him for all he was worth while his dick made itself at home in the omega’s ass.

Of course, he would deny that there was so much cuddling involved if anyone ever asked him. He would also deny how much he enjoyed just holding Cas close. Even though until this point in his life, Dean’s fucks had been of the hard and fast variety—go in there, do his thing, pull it out and send the satisfied omega on his way—he really enjoyed being careful with Cas and taking his time.

The only thing that bothered Dean was that Cas still wouldn’t let him nibble along his scent or mating gland. He wanted to test the waters to get the idea of mating inside Cas’ head, making him aware that that’s where they were headed eventually as far as Dean was concerned. But whenever Dean tried to make advances, Cas turned his head away so that Dean’s mouth landed on his shoulder blade instead.

Still, Dean was a pretty happy alpha all in all, having landed an omega like Cas. And if the idea of mating wasn’t something Cas was into—well, then Dean could wait. It was very early in their relationship anyway and Dean was prepared to woo Cas some more in order to get him to consider mating him.

Whenever Dean wasn’t busy cuddlefucking Cas or taking him out on dates, he was working with Sam on getting burnings outlawed for good and searching for legal ways to make the alphas who had burned Cas’ scent gland pay. Okay, Sam was the one doing most of the work, but Dean checked up on his progress and told him to get his ass moving when Sam said there was nothing new to report since Dean had asked the day before.

Dean was so busy juggling work, his new intimate relationship with Cas and his omega rights side business that it completely took him by surprise when Cas mentioned, just as Dean was pulling out of him after a long, satisfying fuck, “So. My heat is due next week.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Uhm…” was all Dean could say to that.

Why was Cas bringing up his heat? Did he want Dean’s help with it? Did he want Dean to stay away next week? Was he broaching the subject of mating, after all?

“Cool,” Dean said, going for casual. Whatever Cas meant, he would definitely play it cool.

Since they were still naked and on top of the sheets, Dean pulled Cas closer to use him as a human blanket, spooning him from behind, placing a kiss on his shoulder blade (since he already knew that Cas wouldn’t let him go for his neck) and waiting for Cas to continue.

Dean could not have imagined what Cas said next, though.

“You’re a very… cuddly alpha.” Cas turned around in Dean’s arms to look at him.

Dean spluttered and immediately let go of Cas. He was not ‘cuddly,’ thank you very much. If this ever got back to Sam, the teasing would be unbearable.

“And I love that,” Cas continued. “I love all the cuddling and scenting while you go slow and deep…” Cas blushed at that, which would never not amuse Dean, the way talking about their sex life made the omega all flustered, cheeks pink, eyes flitting away from Dean’s.

So Dean knew that whatever Cas was about to say would be good when the omega blushed an even darker shade of red.

“But my heats can be… They are… That is, if you’re even interested in helping me through my heat?”

Dean had no real idea what Cas was trying to say, but that part, at least, he could answer. “’Course I’m interested. I’m your alpha. Taking care of you during your heat is kinda a big part of it. Looking forward to it.”

“Oh. Okay. Well. I’m just not sure slow and gentle will be enough for me next week is all,” Cas mumbled and buried his face against Dean’s shoulder.

Dean grinned. “So you’re saying you wanna get kinky?” he asked.

As always, teasing Cas had the effect of making him defensive, forgetting all about his embarrassment, just like Dean had hoped. “You haven’t even knotted me yet,” Cas said, pulling away a bit so that he could shoot Dean an indignant look. “Knotting is hardly considered kinky, and omegas in heat _need_ an alpha’s knot, so…”

“Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing. I love me some kink.” He winked at Cas for good measure, trying to see if he could make the omega blush again. Flirting with Cas was still one of his favorite pastimes, even now that they were together. “So, while we’re negotiating kinks…”

“We’re _not_ negotiating kinks,” Cas interrupted him. “It’s a perfectly natural thing to ask for.”

“So? Kinks are perfectly natural, too,” Dean countered. “You want me to do you hard and fast during your heat? Done. Now, as I was saying, in the middle of things, would you mind if I said something about breeding you up? Or does that bring back bad feelings ’cause you wanted pups and… you know?”

Cas blinked at him and tilted his head. “You have a breeding kink?”

“Hey, no judging in the bedroom!” Dean said, mock-affronted. “I’m an alpha. Telling our omega in heat that we want to breed him good is kind of what we do.”

Cas was silent for a moment. Then he admitted, quietly, “I didn’t really want his pups. It was Michael’s plan, and then I guess it became mine because I had to go along anyway.”

Dean would never tell Cas that, but the fact that the omega couldn’t conceive was the best thing that could have happened to _both_ of them. Obviously for Dean because he was the happiest alpha on Earth. But Cas’ mate had been a grade-a douchebag and hadn’t deserved Cas one bit, so Dean liked to think that he was the far better option for Cas, too.

“So,” Cas continued, “Talk about how you want your semen to fertilize my eggs all you want. As long as you know that it is just a fantasy and that there is no chance of it actually happening, I am fine with breeding talk. Just stay away from sentences like ‘You better get pregnant this time’ or ‘Don’t disappoint me again.’”

Dean couldn’t hold back his usual growl when Cas mentioned something in passing about how his ex-mate had treated him.

He hadn’t lied when he had said that he wasn’t thinking about pups when Cas had shown him the mark that was supposed to tell alphas to keep away from the barren omega.

But these last few weeks, all sorts of instincts had kicked in, and sometimes when he was lying next to Cas, who smelled like happy and sated omega, he let his mind wander and thought about starting a family with him, after all. He was certainly all in and couldn’t wait to start nesting with Cas.

Talking about adoption was probably too early, though, especially since it might just serve to remind Cas that he couldn’t bear pups himself. So, Dean tried to shut down his instincts and keep his alpha satisfied and under control by putting a load into his omega as often as possible in the bedroom, and spoil him outside of it.

The fact that Cas would be going into heat made his alpha growl with wanton lust, even though rationally, Dean knew his seed couldn’t impregnate him even when the omega entered heat.

“Any kinks you want to share with _me_?” Dean asked because even though he had teased Cas for it, knotting really didn’t count as one.

“Omegas don’t have any kinks,” Cas said, which of course was complete bullshit, but the way he said it, Dean got the impression that Cas actually believed it.

Dean decided that by the time Cas’ heat was over, he would have figured out at least one of his kinks.

* * *

Cas had never felt as safe and cared for with Michael as he did with Dean. It made him want to start nesting, getting ready for pups—an instinct that had never quite kicked in when Michael had suggested they try for pups.

Of course, it was too soon to bring up pups and he didn’t want to scare Dean away. After all, the alpha had said he didn’t want to ‘change diapers and shit like that.’

He had also mentioned adoption as a solution, talking about what the distant future might hold for them. Cas knew, though, that only same-sex beta couples adopted pups. An alpha would obviously use a surrogate, and Cas really didn’t want to think about Dean breeding another omega in heat the way Cas wished Dean could breed _him_.

Maybe that was the oncoming heat talking…

The next few days, until his heat started, Dean was getting more insistent in the bedroom, picking up the pace of their fucking and getting Cas to submit to him by making him roll over and show him his belly. Maybe it had something to do with Cas calling him ‘cuddly,’ maybe it was the pre-heat scent that Dean swore was just as strong as any omega he had ever scented. In any case, Cas found that he liked this more vigorous fucking just as much as their gentle lovemaking.

Dean also went for his neck more and more often, but Cas tried to keep the alpha away from it. It was bad enough that he couldn’t hide his scar because Dean insisted on getting Cas completely naked whenever they were having intercourse. Cas had tried keeping his shirt on in the beginning, but Dean was having none of it.

Luckily, Dean left his neck alone after a while and instead left hickeys around his nipples, down his rib cage and on his torso. Apparently, his heat scent had triggered some deep-seated need in Dean to mark Cas in every way imaginable. Cas was absolutely on board with that.

Then, the first day of his heat arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

Things Dean had found out about Cas’ likes and dislikes in the bedroom before his heat even started: The omega liked having his nipples played with, sucked and nibbled on. Not really _kinky _kinky, but it was a start. Come to think of it, Cas really got into Dean marking him—anywhere but the place Dean’s alpha was drawn to the most, that was: his neck.

Cas was still self-conscious about the scar on his scent gland. He had never once bared his neck for Dean as a sign of trust and submission. On top of that, the omega liked burying his head in Dean’s shoulder when they fucked face to face so that Dean couldn’t see his scent gland. At least, Dean assumed that was the reason.

Cas used the position to scent the crap out of Dean, though, which—yeah, might be a little bit kinky, especially considering that Cas went crazy the moment Dean ejaculated inside of him, pressing his nose against Dean’s neck and basically sniffing himself into his own orgasm.

Omegas didn’t have kinks—yeah, right!

The heat started slow. Cas didn’t go from zero to one hundred immediately, which was a good thing because it gave them time to relocate to Dean’s place, where Dean had everything set up. Cas had taken time off for heat leave and Dean had made arrangements for the garage, so they could stay in Dean’s bedroom for as long as it took to get Cas through his heat.

When Cas first started moaning (not in the sexy way) how hot he was (again, not a come on), Dean was prepared. He made Cas lie down on his back and get comfortable, then he dragged an ice cube along Cas’ naked skin, which, instead of cooling him down as every Internet site had said it would, it got the omega all revved up.

There went another tick in Dean’s mental list of Cas’ kinks: sensation play, check. Very convenient, seeing as Dean loved teasing a reaction out of Cas.

Cas’ scent was stronger than ever and Dean felt his alpha react to the scent of his omega in heat, his cock quickly filling out, his balls busy producing sperm for Cas’ hungry hole, unaware of the fact that even if Dean deposited it safely inside of Cas, his spunk wouldn’t be able to fertilize any eggs.

He put the quickly melting ice cube into Cas’ belly button, eliciting a moan from the omega—this time, the sexy kind. Then he positioned himself between Cas’ spread legs and leaned down to suckle on his sensitive nipples.

Cas immediately spread his legs wider in invitation, but Dean wasn’t quite ready to sink into him just yet. Even though holding back was driving his alpha wild with the urge to release his seed into Cas, he wanted to drive Cas crazy with lust even more.

He stroked along Cas’ sides and belly with feather-light touches, slightly tickling the omega, who writhed around underneath him, then dipping a finger into his belly button to jostle the melting ice cube.

“De-ean!” Cas whined.

Dean grinned down at his omega, so desperate for him, and placed his cock right at his entrance. “You wet enough to take me, babe?” he asked, even though he could see slick gushing out of the omega’s ass.

“I’m in heat. What do you think?” Cas snarked, which made Dean grin and duck down to steal a kiss.

God, he loved this snarky omega so much!

He invaded Cas’ mouth with his tongue while slowly pushing his cock into Cas’ hole until it was resting snuggly inside of the omega’s stretched entrance.

Cas’ perfect scent teased his nostrils and Dean just couldn’t hold back anymore. He loosened the reins on his alpha and let him out to play—and fuck to his heart’s desire.

Dean used one hand to pull Cas’ arms above his head, asserting his dominance while he was ploughing away, Cas’ moans of pleasure urging him on.

_Yes!_ Finally! He got Cas to submit, baring his neck. Dean didn’t want to take advantage of the situation while Cas was barely in control of himself, so he didn’t mouth, bite, lick and nibble like he wanted to, but merely scented along his neck, not quite making contact with his skin.

“God, you smell so ripe!” Dean growled. “Gonna pump you so full. Nut inside you, then plug you up good with my knot. Give my guys enough time to find your egg.”

And there Cas went again, baring his neck in submission, which drove Dean _insane_ with the need to breed him.

A quick lick couldn’t hurt, maybe a tiny nibble. Cas’ moans turned louder. The omega seemed to get off on the fantasy, too.

“Yeah, babe,” Dean encouraged him. “Let me hear how much you want it. How much you want me to fuck a pup right into your belly.”

Dean’s thrusts turned more desperate, almost frantic, and just as Cas’ scent peaked with his orgasm, Dean blasted his own load into Cas’ womb and roughly pushed his knot into Cas’ hole so that his fertile seed stayed safely placed within his omega—even though it had no chance of taking hold.

Cas was looking up at him in awe, and Dean couldn’t resist snuggling him close. He had to make sure his omega got some rest before the next round. They would go at it again soon enough, probably multiple times today alone.

As his heat got stronger, Cas—timid, shy-in-the-bedroom Cas—started to actually ask for stuff, too. Usually, it was Dean who told Cas what to do when they had sex, what position he wanted him in, and Dean was the one to set the pace, too.

So when Cas went on all fours and presented for him, mumbling, “Do me from behind,” Dean was surprised to say the least. The next second, he was on his omega, though, entering him roughly from behind because the fact that Cas was telling him what he wanted while Dean was sexing him up _had_ to be rewarded. (Well, that, and the fact that there was no universe in which Dean would not jump Cas when he was _presenting _for him.)

On round six, when Dean was a little bit more quiet than usual (having made himself hoarse with all the dirty talk), Cas was even the one to start it up again.

Cas was lying on his back again—Dean’s favorite position because he could look down into Cas’ beautiful face while fucking him, seeing Cas bite his lip and flush in ecstasy. Dean was just entering Cas more slowly and carefully, since all their forceful fucking had to have left Cas’ asshole pretty raw, when the omega moaned, “Breed me up, alpha!”

There went his plan to do Cas more gently this time around. Dean’s hips stuttered. The little shit! Tell him a kink and he shamelessly used it against him.

“Careful,” Dean admonished as he pushed the last few inches of his dick into Cas with a punishing snap of his hips. “I know your kinks, too.”

Cas was just opening his mouth, probably to deny that he even _had_ any kinks, when Dean ducked down to lick at his nipples before blowing on them while dragging his dick against Cas’ prostate.

Instead of protesting, Cas just slammed his eyes shut and moaned loudly, his ass hungrily squeezing Dean’s prick as the omega’s dick spurted repeatedly, making Dean follow him over the edge like a horny teenager in rut.

He pushed his pulsing dick in deep, some sort of breeding instinct that was taking over, even though he didn’t want to stretch Cas’ hole with his knot to keep his sperm in.

* * *

Over the next few days, Dean made sure to take good care of Cas. Between rounds of fucking, he gave the exhausted omega massages using the expensive oil specifically produced for omegas in heat because apparently, the scent didn’t set them off like normal massage oils. Of course, those massages usually ended with Cas begging for Dean’s knot and Dean sinking into his delicious heat again.

He also used some more ice cubes, which, this time, had the desired effect of making Cas’ heat more bearable. Of course, he also brought him breakfast in bed like any good alpha would do. All in all, for a first time taking care of an omega in heat, Dean thought he was doing a pretty decent job. In any case, Cas hadn’t fallen into heat delirium, so his methods couldn’t be all wrong.

Dean had no idea if Cas always needed it this often when in heat. He tried asking about it, but when he mentioned Michael, Cas was looking at him in his adorably confused way, and Dean decided to count it as a win that he had fucked all thoughts of his ex-mate out of Cas’ mind.

By the end of Cas’ heat, Dean had flooded his ass so many times that, had he not been infertile, there’d be no chance the omega would have walked away from this fuck with an empty belly.

As it was, they were both a bit exhausted, but happy to finally be able to lie in bed, snuggling, without it having to turn into a fuck session.

Hormones were still running high, though, so Dean pulled Cas against him possessively, and inhaled his scent, which, even though Cas was officially out of heat, smelled absolutely _amazing._

No omega outside of heat had any business smelling like that. Like their scents had somehow mixed… It was probably the way Dean had scent-marked him in every way imaginable. Dean was too exhausted to try and come up with a better explanation. Snuggling his omega close, he closed his eyes and just enjoyed the moment, slowly drifting off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The show is currently kind of stealing my writing mojo what with being so depressing, but I still have a couple chapters left to post and I hope that in the meantime I’ll find a way to continue writing nice!Dean. (I realize that “my” Dean gets more and more out of character if compared to the Dean on the show. But I prefer him to treat Cas nicely.)
> 
> In any case, I could totally use a pick-me-up after the last episode, so comments would make my day. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️


	4. Chapter 4

Cas didn’t stop smelling amazing to Dean. Of course, the omega had _always_ smelled great, but his scent had turned even sweeter, making Dean want to coddle him even more so than usual.

Even though Cas’ heat was over, some sort of alpha instinct made Dean continue to feed Cas—preparing food, making sure the omega ate enough, the works.

Since omegas liked it warm and cozy, Dean also bought soft, fuzzy cuddle-worthy blankets to make his bed more inviting for Cas.

His instincts told him to make his place as comfortable for Cas as possible. Plus, Dean hoped that his chances of getting Cas to agree to mate him would be better if the omega felt safe and sound at his place.

Unfortunately, Cas continued to evade him whenever Dean tried to get too close to his mating gland, thus in a way turning down his mating proposition. Of course, Dean knew that Cas’ bad experiences with Michael were to blame for that, so he would be patient and happy with everything Cas was willing to give.

Cas for his part, who was the _real_ cuddly one of them both if you asked Dean, sought out physical comfort from him even more after they had spent his heat together. He would pull Dean’s arm across his middle and nuzzle into him before falling asleep, and occasionally even climb on top of him for a round of lazy morning sex when they didn’t have to get ready for work.

That was one horny omega Dean suddenly had on his hands.

After one such round one Sunday morning, Dean smiled at him softly, his knot still connecting them both in the most intimate way, his thumb protectively caressing Cas’ stomach.

“You have no idea how much I love you,” he said, surprising them both. “God, I’m just the luckiest alpha on Earth.”

Cas blushed at that and smiled timidly back. “_I’m_ the lucky one.”

Before this could get even sappier than it already was, Dean began fucking into Cas again, his cock ready for some more action, as was typically the case in Cas’ presence. Hitting that spot that made the omega mewl in pleasure was definitely a surefire way to distract him from too much mush.

He was a virile alpha, after all…

* * *

They were just getting dressed when the doorbell rang. Dean had almost forgotten that Sam wanted to come by this morning.

He quickly pulled his shirt over his head and went to let his brother in. Cas joined them once he was fully clothed, his scent gland hidden once more, and greeted Sam, but the alpha in Dean really didn’t like how Sam stared at Cas, so he snapped at his brother, “What’re _you_ looking at?!” while stepping in between them.

“Dean!” Cas hissed, the ‘Don’t be rude’ clear in his tone.

“Uhm…” was all Sam said in the face of Dean’s threatening posture.

Cas was stepping out from behind Dean and that’s when Dean realized that he had almost bared his teeth at his _brother_—nonthreatening moose of an omega that he was.

“I’m feeling a bit nauseous. I’ll see you later?” Cas asked, then quickly nosed along Dean’s neck, said goodbye to Sam, and was gone.

“What you got?” Dean asked once they were alone. Hopefully, Sam had made some headway figuring out how to get justice for Cas.

“So, we’re not going to talk about you almost assaulting me just now?” Sam asked, crossing his arms.

Dean snorted. “Get over yourself, I didn’t almost assault you. You were looking at Cas funny, I told you. End of story.”

“I was not ‘looking at Cas funny,’” Sam protested, using air quotes. “I just didn’t know he would be here. You’re the one who wanted to keep this between us.”

“Just because I don’t want him to get his hopes up since you’ve been dragging your feet.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “I’d like to see _you_ try to make a case against powerful alphas who have the law on their side.” He walked over to the kitchen to put his documents on the table. Then he looked at the chair, and asked, “What’s this?”

Dean followed his line of sight and explained, “A seat cushion. Shut up, it’s more comfortable, okay?” When Sam raised his eyebrows at him, he added, “Did you know that omegas like soft, fluffy things?”

“I _am_ an omega, and that’s exactly the kind of stereotypical thinking that makes this case so hard for me,” Sam sighed as he sat down on the seat cushion and sorted through his documents.

“Well, joke’s on you. Cas brought it here. Now, I ask again, what have you got?”

“Apparently, Michael himself signed off on the burning. There were only three alphas required to be present for the burning itself.” Sam paused in his little speech to ask, “Do you still have the book on ritualistic burnings I lent you?”

“Oh, yeah, hang on.” Dean went into his bedroom to get it, where it was hidden away in the bottom drawer of his nightstand.

When he got up again, he saw Sam standing in the doorway to the bedroom, staring at the bed wide-eyed. Well, he would just have to deal with seeing his brother’s sex-rumpled sheets if he couldn’t sit in the kitchen and wait for one goddamn minute.

Before Dean could make a lewd comment to see if he could freak him out even more, Sam took two huge steps towards him and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so happy for you! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

This was not the reaction of someone who was disgusted by imagining his brother having sex.

“Tell you what?” Dean asked, confused about what was going on here. He had told Sam that he had gotten together with Cas _weeks_ ago. The fact that they were having sex had been implied. It was kind of a strange thing for his brother to get excited about, anyway.

“Oh, is it a secret?” Sam asked in a hushed voice and finally let go of Dean to look at him all wide-eyed.

“Start speaking English, man,” Dean said as he held out the book for him.

Sam ignored it, though. “Well, you’re protective of Cas—more so than usual—, you’re nesting…” Sam motioned towards the bed. “Cas is with pup, right?”

“What?!” Dean almost laughed in his brother’s face. “Don’t be ridiculous. This isn’t a nest. This is just a few extra blankets.”

“Yeah? And what is that—a blanket made from your clothes?” Sam pointed to a bundle of Dean’s clothes on his bed, which were mainly there because of their soft fabric. Well, and Cas did like to use them as a blanket.

“They’re comfortable clothes,” Dean defended their presence on his bed. “Don’t make this weird. You know Cas can’t get pregnant.”

“I don’t know. Seems pretty nest-y to me,” Sam said, still side-eying the bed. “And maybe he couldn’t conceive with Michael, but True Mates can overcome a lot of things…”

“Whoa, whoa, hold up there!” Dean held up a hand to stop his brother from rambling crazy things. “What are you on about? _True Mates_?”

Sam peered at him as if _he_ was the crazy one. “How is that a surprise? _You’re_ the one who told me.”

“_What_?! Are we from the same universe? I never told you Cas and I are True Mates. I don’t even _believe_ in that True Mates bullshit!”

“You said you were the only one who can smell his scent,” Sam pointed out.

When he didn’t continue, Dean had to press, “So?”

“So, how do you explain that?”

“I don’t know, I have a great nose?”

Sam shook his head with an eye-roll. “In any case, you’re both clearly nesting. Maybe your instincts are smarter than you.”

Dean looked at the bed—who was he kidding, it _was _a nest—and tried to make sense of it all.

Then it hit him. Cas’ sweeter than usual scent! _That’s_ what it was. He smelled like pregnant omega. Dean hadn’t been around a lot of pregnant omegas, so he hadn’t immediately recognized the scent. Not to mention he had never smelled an omega who was pregnant with _his_ pup before.

Could it be? That hadn’t been the first time Cas had complained about nausea, either. Usually, Dean’s scent settled him, just like the scent of the pup’s alpha helped pregnant omegas with morning sickness…

Dean quickly did the math in his head. It had been almost a month since they’d had heat sex.

But it was impossible—wasn’t it? Dean really shouldn’t let himself hope. Perhaps their instincts were just telling them that they were ready for pups, not that Cas was already expecting.

He should try to figure this out first—be sure about it before he let himself get too excited.


	5. Chapter 5

The next time he saw Cas, he immediately scented him more thoroughly than usual, making the omega giggle and push him away when he reached a ticklish spot. Yep, that was the scent of Cas carrying his pup.

Still, he didn’t want to upset Cas before he was one hundred percent sure.

Getting the omega to take the pregnancy test without him finding out about it was trickier than thought, though.

His attempt to walk in on Cas in the bathroom and play ‘Guess who?’ didn’t work. (“Who pees sitting down?!” – “Why are you criticizing the way I use the toilet, Dean?”)

When he brought up water sports, Cas went on about how he wasn’t very athletic and didn’t want to take time off work to go to the sea anyway since he had just started his new job. Just as well. Even if Dean had used a blindfold, Cas would probably have realized something was up sooner or later.

He was running out of ideas on how to get his hands on Cas’ pee when Cas found the test and asked Dean about it. This wasn’t how Dean had wanted to tell him, but now that the cat was out of the bag, at least Dean would find out for sure one way or another.

* * *

When Cas found the pregnancy test in Dean’s bathroom closet while searching for a new tube of toothpaste, he was upset at first. The cheating, he was used to from his time with Michael. But Dean didn’t seem the type.

He just couldn’t imagine that Dean had gone off and had heat sex with another omega while he had been so considerate with Cas, letting him bring over some of his own stuff to make Dean’s place more homey, telling him he loved him…

He decided to confront Dean, find out what was going on before he let feelings of jealousy and betrayal engulf him.

So, he showed Dean the pregnancy test and asked, “Why is there a pregnancy test in your bathroom closet?”

“Don’t freak out. I think you might have… I mean, I might have—_we_ might…” Dean trailed off and rubbed a hand across his face. Then he looked straight into Cas’ eyes and said, “You smell pregnant, dude.”

Cas tilted his head. “Did you just call me ‘dude’?” The next second, the rest of Dean’s sentence reached his brain and he sighed. “Dean—we’ve talked about this. I can’t get pregnant.”

At least Cas had been correct and Dean hadn’t slept with another omega in heat. The alpha was just delusional, that was all. Cas had feared that Dean might confuse fantasy with reality when Cas had let him talk about breeding him during heat sex. He had enjoyed the fantasy quite a bit himself and had played along, maybe that hadn’t been helpful, either.

“But I can smell the pregnancy all over you,” Dean insisted. “Just—take the test, let’s see what it says.”

Cas crossed his arms. “I know what it’ll say, we don’t need a test for that.”

“What about all the nesting you’ve been doing lately?” Dean challenged. “And you’ve been getting nauseous a lot.”

“Is this your way of telling me that you’d be open to starting a family?” Cas asked, trying to figure out where this was coming from. Maybe they could have that conversation about surrogacy if the alpha was thinking about pups, too.

“No. Well, yes, that too. But this is my way of telling you: You’re with pup.”

Dean was very stubborn and no matter what Cas said, he maintained that Cas smelled pregnant. That was why, just to shut Dean up, Cas ended up taking the damn pregnancy test after all.

Of course, the stupid test gave a false positive, which did not help convince Dean that Cas wasn’t pregnant because _it wasn’t possible._

“Go buy a new one,” Cas said and Dean’s smug expression turned incredulous. Served him right. He had brought this on himself, talking about Cas smelling pregnant even though Cas had made sure the alpha knew what he was in for before they even got together. “And a better one, not the cheapest one they have,” Cas yelled after him when Dean went to get his jacket with a huff.

* * *

Dean had to go to the drugstore twice more. The second time, he brought back a bunch of pregnancy tests so that Cas couldn’t make him go _again_ just because he thought the pregnancy tests had it out for him and simply weren’t accurate enough.

“I can’t get pregnant,” Cas repeated, his mind clearly stuck on that thought, even though the four pregnancy tests he had taken were lying scattered around on the table in front of them telling a different story.

Dean was starting to get exhausted. Taking the tests had taken them a long-ass time because they had had to wait for Cas to be ready to take another test. Dean had suggested he should just drink a bottle of water to get things moving, but apparently, drinking too much before taking the test could get them an inaccurate result.

“Well, maybe the doctor was wrong,” Dean carefully suggested. He had found out the hard way that saying the wrong thing in this situation could set the pregnant omega off on a rant about how infertility didn’t just magically cure itself.

“I didn’t go to a doctor,” Cas said off-handedly, still staring at the pregnancy tests as if looking at them could turn them negative.

“What?”

“I got the at-home test from a back-alley dealer,” Cas explained. When Dean was left speechless, Cas finally looked at him and added, “It was the logical choice. If I had gone to a doctor, he would have been obligated by law to report me.”

“Well, you got reported anyway, so…” Dean cut himself off just in time before he could add, ‘How’d that work out for you?’

When Cas still narrowed his eyes at him, Dean quickly went on, “So, anyway, seems like my nose was right again and you really _are_ pregnant, huh?”

That hadn’t come out as smooth as he had hoped, but he was in uncharted territory here, and he was trying to figure out if Cas was at all happy about the fact that he was carrying Dean’s pup. The omega had said that he hadn’t really wanted pups with Michael, but Dean had no idea if that meant he wasn’t ready for pups at all or if he just hadn’t wanted them with his ex-mate.

“But Michael and I tried for _so long_,” Cas stressed. “We had _so much_ heat sex…”

Dean scrunched up his nose. “Heat sex with former mates? Not really what a father-to-be wants to hear about.”

Cas didn’t seem to care that Dean’s alpha was going nuts imagining someone else touching his omega while he was in heat. Instead, Cas stood up to pace around and went right on, “Don’t you think I should have fallen pregnant before if it’s possible?”

Dean shrugged. “Maybe my sperm is just _that_ fertile.”

That earned him a dark look from Cas. Apparently, pregnant Cas wasn’t in the mood for his sense of humor, so, Dean explained, “It was a joke. Obviously your ‘at home test’ wasn’t exactly accurate. What did you _think_ would happen if you didn’t let a professional take a look? There are doctors who do that kind of thing off the books, you know. If you had come to me, I’d have been able to get you an appointment with one.”

That had obviously been the wrong thing to say. Cas stopped his pacing to shoot him another unimpressed look. “Yes, why, _oh why_ didn’t I come to you for help? Oh yes, that’s right, I didn’t _know_ you back then.”

“I know you’re pregnant and all, but could you maybe dial down on the snark a bit?”

Cas deflated and sat down next to Dean again, burying his head in his hands. His shoulders began to shake and sobs wracked his body.

Oh great, Dean was just a terrific alpha! Now he had made his omega cry with his insensitivity.

“Hey, no,” Dean said, scooting closer to Cas so that he could pull him into a soothing embrace. “That was… I didn’t mean that. You can be as snarky as you want.” He rubbed Cas’ back gently. “You know I love you especially hard when you’re being snarky.” He placed a kiss on top of his head to show his omega that he cared and didn’t want him to be sad even for a second, especially not because of something Dean had said.

Cas clung to Dean and the offered comfort, nosing along Dean’s neck like he usually did when he needed Dean’s scent to calm down.

Once the sobs subsided, Cas let go a bit to look at Dean with red-rimmed eyes, and asked, “Is this really happening? Am I really not broken?”

Dean felt his heart squeeze. He made sure Cas was looking him right in the eyes when he told him, “Cas, you were never broken, you hear me? _Never_. That’s just society making you think that. Doesn’t matter if you can conceive, doesn’t matter if some douchebag alphas decided to burn your scent gland… You’re still you. The most awesome omega I’ve ever met.”

A small smile crept across Cas’ face. Then he looked back at the pregnancy tests on the table, and back to Dean. “We’re having a pup?” he asked as if he still couldn’t believe it.

“We’re having a pup,” Dean confirmed.

Finally, Cas’ scent turned hopeful and happy and Dean felt relief wash over him. Cas _did_ want their pup and he was happy about it.

Now that it was confirmed, Dean could finally let the happiness wash over him, too. Somehow, during their rounds of heat sex, one lucky sperm really had found Cas’ egg and buried its way inside, and now his pup was growing inside of Cas. How awesome was that?!

Feeling a wave of possessiveness wash over him, Dean pulled Cas into a kiss.

“God, you smell so deliciously knocked up,” Dean said when they had to come up for air, fumbling Cas’ shirt out of his pants so that he could fondle his wonderful knocked up belly, even though it wasn’t rounded yet.

When Cas leaned back to give Dean better access, he popped Cas’ jeans button, slipped his hand inside and splayed it across his abdomen. That’s where their pup was resting, safe and snug. “Makes me want to try to fuck another pup into you.”

“Dean!” Cas slapped his hand away. “This is real. This isn’t part of our role play breeding scenario anymore.”

“Yeah, so?” Dean pouted, trying to get his hands on Cas’ belly again, but Cas kept evading him.

“You said you didn’t want to change diapers,” Cas reminded him.

“C’mon, I only said that because I wanted to be with you and you were acting as if your infertility was a deal breaker. _Of course_ I’m ecstatic that I’m gonna be a father.”

Somehow, that didn’t make Cas relent. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at Dean and said, “So, you wouldn’t have been okay with it if I had never gotten pregnant after all?”

“What? No. That’s not what I’m saying.” Dean tried to find a way to rephrase it that would be satisfactory for Cas. Realizing that there was none, he sighed. “Those are the pregnancy hormones already, aren’t they? I can’t win this one no matter what I say right now.”

The fact that Cas didn’t have a comeback for that was as good as an admission that Dean was right.

After a moment, Cas took Dean’s hand and put it back on his belly.

Dean raised his eyebrows, amused.

“What?” Cas said, defensive. “I like it when you’re being all protective over something you can’t even see yet.”

“Well, then get ready for some serious protectiveness. I’m gonna protect the _hell_ out of you both.” Dean bent down to press a soft kiss on Cas’ still flat belly. “Isn’t that right?” he asked the belly, making Cas roll his eyes fondly. Then he pitched his voice higher and answered his own question in pup talk, “Yes, it is. Yes, it is.”

When he looked up into Cas’ face, he saw him trying to suppress a grin in vain. Dean kissed him again to steal that smile off his face, his hand still splayed across Cas’ belly. He hadn’t lied about his protective instincts. If he had to, he’d keep his hand there forever to make sure his pup was safe and sound in there.

Dean slipped Cas a little tongue to see if he was interested in heating things up. The proof of his alpha potency nestled inside of Cas was sort of a turn-on, after all. When his omega responded by pulling him closer, Dean couldn’t help but feel like everything was lining up perfectly.


	6. Chapter 6

Even though Dean had sort of convinced Cas that the pregnancy tests weren’t all false positives, he noticed that Cas wasn’t as excited about the news as Dean was, who just wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

Dean suspected that Cas _still_ didn’t want to get his hopes up because he smelled nervous as hell when the appointment for his first checkup at the doctor’s came along.

“What if I’m not pregnant after all?” Cas asked on their way to the omega doctor. “He’ll laugh at me for even thinking someone like me can conceive.” He indicated his hidden scent gland.

Even if Cas managed to keep it hidden during the exam, the doctor would obviously know from his file that Cas was supposedly a Barren.

“He won’t laugh at you,” Dean said, ignoring the fact that Cas _still_ doubted the existence of their pup on some level. “For one, he’d be out of a job pretty quickly if he laughed at his patients. And remember what I told you about protecting you? I’ll be right there with you and I won’t _let_ him laugh.”

“It might be a false pregnancy,” Cas murmured.

“It’s not,” Dean said firmly. “The pregnancy tests would have come back negative.” He kept the fact that he had looked that information up on the internet to himself.

“The tests might have been—”

“Not all seven of them,” Dean interrupted him before Cas could finish that thought.

Cas had taken the other tests Dean had bought over the last few days, and to no one’s surprise but Cas’, all of them had been positive.

Dean hated that Cas’ scent grew more nervous by the second the closer they got to the doctor’s office. There was nothing he could do but be there for Cas—and hopefully, his omega would accept that they were expecting once the doctor confirmed it.

Doctor Anderson was a balding beta with glasses, who looked older and less handsome than in the picture on the homepage.

Of course, he didn’t laugh, as Dean had predicted, but he did look at them strangely and tried to explain to them how fertility worked. When Dean saw how subdued Cas became during his “unfortunately, infertile omegas don’t get their fertility back” speech, he had had enough.

“Just do your tests or I’m taking my omega to a doctor who doesn’t have a stick up his ass,” he growled, which made the doctor stop short and blink at him owlishly through his glasses.

Cas looked at Dean as well, but he had a pleasantly surprised look on his face. It took Dean a moment to realize that he hadn’t referred to Cas as ‘his omega’ out loud before. He took a step closer to Cas in support, making sure the omega knew he had meant it.

The tests took ages, but it was so worth it to see the look on the doc’s face when he realized that Cas really was pregnant. Even better was Cas’ expression when Doc Anderson declared that he was carrying a healthy pup and that everything looked fine. He smiled at Dean and took his hand, squeezing it in relief. It seemed like Cas had no reason to deny the pup growing inside of him anymore.

“I don’t know how you got branded,” Doctor Anderson said as they got ready to leave. “There are clearly no fertility issues here.”

That’s when it hit Dean: This was their smoking gun for a lawsuit against Michael and the alphas who had burned Cas’ scent gland.

Cas said he wasn’t ready to tell anyone just yet, but Sam already knew anyway, so it was safe for Dean to discuss it with his brother.

“Yeah, could be helpful,” Sam conceded hesitantly when Dean called him as soon as he was back home.

“_Could be_?” Dean repeated. “The dude had a fertile omega branded. One heat. It took me all of _one heat _to knock Cas up. Can’t get any more fertile than that.”

“I really don’t want to think about how my niece or nephew was conceived, thank you very much,” Sam, the prude, said. “And I _said_ it could be helpful. But we should also consider the fact that since Cas is fertile after all, their mating bond was broken under false pretenses. If he wanted to, Michael could fight the broken mating bond, so… I don’t know if we should drag him to court just yet.”

“Son of a bitch!” They knew that it had been against the law for Michael to have Cas branded, but they couldn’t do anything about it. Great! 

“No, it’s… It’s good, we can work with that. We should just be really sure we can win this before we do anything.”

Dean had no idea how Sam could be so patient. As a lawyer for omegas, it was always an uphill battle for him, and still, he always kept a level head. Dean would have gone nuts long ago at the injustice of it all.

* * *

Cas still couldn’t believe this wasn’t a dream, that it was actually happening.

Dean was _awesome_. He was really excited about this pup, which was a huge relief. Another alpha might have freaked out because they hadn’t planned for this, because Cas had said he couldn’t conceive and then he had fallen pregnant the very first time they had heat sex.

But Dean was so happy about it and made sure that Cas didn’t want for anything.

Cas was at Dean’s place more often than his own these days because their book said that the alpha’s scent was calming for the fetus.

One day, when Cas was just about to leave because he had run out of clean things to wear, Dean suggested casually, “Why don’t you just stay here for good? I mean, it’s probably better if we’re living together when the pup arrives anyway, right?”

And that’s how they decided to make _Dean’s_ place _their_ place. Which meant that overall, nothing much changed, but at least it was official.

They were having a pup together, they were living together… It awakened some desire inside of Cas that was yearning for Dean to mate him.

Of course, it wasn’t his place to bring that up. Alphas were the ones who proposed mating—and Cas could never bind Dean to him like that. He was tainted. He had already been mated once before, so he couldn’t blame Dean for not having brought up mating yet.

Maybe Cas didn’t need it, anyway. Look at where a mating bond had gotten him with Michael. With Dean, everything was perfect. He didn’t need a mating bond to tell him that Dean loved him.

The alpha had told him so himself, multiple times.

Once the pup bump had started showing (which in Cas’ opinion was way too early), Dean started goofing around by talking to Cas’ belly.

“Knock, knock.”

Cas was used to it, so he just kept reading and didn’t pay attention to the alpha, who was sitting further down on the bed so that he had better access to Cas’ pup bump.

Dean cleared his throat and repeated, a bit louder, “_Knock, knock._”

Cas finally set down the book and affectionately rolled his eyes. “She can’t say ‘Who’s there,’ you know?” It was too early to tell if it was a girl or a boy, but Cas was imagining it was a girl.

Dean just smiled brightly and pretended that their pup had asked that. “Your alpha daddy who loves you and your omega daddy very, very much.”

“And who is not very funny,” Cas added, even though his heart was about to burst with happiness. “You should know that about him.” He gently rested his hand on his own belly. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Always the man of action, Dean had also told him through his actions, cooking something healthy to eat for them almost every day, even though he himself preferred the less healthy options. That’s why Cas decided to return the favor and try to bake his favorite pie for him.

Cas was out grocery shopping, reaching for the eggs. He had to stand up on tiptoes, thinking about how the extra few inches Dean had on him would make it easy for the alpha to reach it, when he heard someone ask from behind him, “Castiel?”

Cas spun around at the familiar voice, thoughts of Dean and apple pie chased away.

There it was. At long last. Standing right in front of him—the other shoe Cas had been waiting for.

Michael was smiling his fake smile that said he was happy to see him even though he really wasn’t. Then his eyes dropped down to Cas’ belly and his smile was replaced by an unreadable expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have summaries for the witch Cas fic and for the shifter AU in case that sways your vote:
> 
> **“Under his Spell”:**
> 
> _After Sam gets hurt during a hunt, Dean sets out to get help from a recluse witch. While Dean feels inexplicably drawn to Castiel right off the bat, the witch doesn’t trust strangers easily. Never one to give up without a fight, Dean tries to get through Cas’ literal and metaphorical defenses. Along the way, a profound bond forms, which one would not have thought possible between a hunter and a witch._
> 
> **“US Alpha Race Championship”:**
> 
> _ Dean loves taking part in alpha races. Catching the most elusive omega is half the fun for him, so it’s no wonder that he feels intrigued by the omega wolf who gets caught last race after race in the US Alpha Race Championship._
> 
> _Dean’s wolf is smitten with this awesome omega (who has yet to let him mount him even though Dean’s alpha is the one to catch him again and again), but once they're in human form and their scents change, Dean can't find him. Dean himself is drawn to an omega he met after the race in human form. Castiel is the kind of omega who Dean would definitely like to woo given the chance. If only his alpha would stop thinking about how much he would like to claim that omega wolf he keeps going after during the races..._
> 
> _Cas’ omega loves being chased by that mystery alpha wolf during the races. But then he meets Dean and can’t stop himself from falling for the alpha…_


	7. Chapter 7

“I got fat,” Cas blurted out, hoping that Michael would buy it.

He had no idea why he even cared if his ex-mate knew he was pregnant. He should be happy and rub it in his face, show him that he had been wrong. Instead, some sort of instinct made him want to hide the fact that he was with pup.

Michael had hurt him enough in the past. He didn’t want to give him a chance to hurt his pup.

There had been a time when Cas would have given anything to have his mate back, to even see him again. The second Michael had placed his mating bite on him, a bond had been created between them for better or for worse. The second it had been broken… it had been the worst time of Cas’ life, hormones telling him that he had lost the safety of his mate forever. Feelings of rejection had made it hard to feel anything but lost and left behind.

“I can see that,” Michael simply said, stepping around Cas and easily picking up the eggs, putting them into Cas’ cart. “Who did this to you?”

Cas really didn’t want to get Dean into trouble, so he quickly said, “I actually don’t have time to chat.”

And then he used the distraction of a beta squeezing herself between them to get to the eggs, and fled, leaving the shopping cart behind.

* * *

When Dean came home, he was in a good mood. On the way home, he had stopped by a baby shop, just to take a quick look—but then he hadn’t been able to resist and had bought a onesie with a honeybee on it that said, ‘Cute as can bee.’

Cas would love it. And their pup would look so cute in it.

Dean was humming the tune of _Ramble On_ when he stepped inside—he smelled agitated omega immediately, which put an abrupt stop to his good mood.

“Cas?” he called and followed the scent to their nest. “Hey, everything okay?”

He put the onesie on the dresser and sat down next to Cas who had buried his face in one of Dean’s sweaters. Now that Dean was there, Cas replaced the sweater with Dean’s neck and took a few calming breaths.

Once he had calmed down enough, the omega let go of him, opened and closed his mouth a few times, and Dean was just starting to seriously freak out when Cas finally said, “I think I’m carrying pups.”

Dean furrowed his brows. “Yeah, we’ve established that.”

“No, I mean, _pups_. Plural. A litter.”

Dean raised his eyebrows at Cas—a way of asking why he thought so as well as an indication that he didn’t quite buy that that was what Cas had been freaking out about.

“I shouldn’t be this fat already,” Cas continued, talking very quickly. “I mean, should the pup bump even be visible this early in the pregnancy? Even Michael saw it at first glance, I’m huge. That can’t be normal.”

“Uhm… Come again?”

“My pup bump shouldn’t be this obvious this early in the pregnancy,” Cas repeated more slowly. “Plus, my nausea is pretty bad…”

“No, I mean, go back to the Michael thing.”

“Oh. Well, it was so obvious; he immediately knew what was going on.”

“When did you even see Michael?” Dean didn’t like this one bit. As always when Cas’ ex-mate was mentioned, he felt his hackles rise.

“Earlier today. At the grocery store,” Cas replied. “But don’t worry. The mating bond is broken for good. There are no feelings of pining or… _anything_ left really. Maybe contempt. But certainly no _good_ feelings.”

“That’s not what I was worried about,” Dean murmured.

He was worried about Michael hurting Cas, physically or emotionally. More than that, Sam’s warning that Michael could fight the broken mating bond flashed through his mind again.

“What did he say?” Dean asked, trying to exude calm and not give away how worried he really was.

“Nothing. I ran away.”

“You _ran_?” Dean repeated. Of all the… “From your _alpha_ ex-mate?”

“I had a head start,” Cas mumbled, a bit petulantly. “He didn’t even see where I went and it’s not like he can follow my scent.”

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d have to deal with Michael later. First things first. He still had a rather shaken omega on his hands and all the stress couldn’t be good for his pup.

“You did the right thing,” he reassured Cas, pulling him into a hug, even though running from an alpha was _never_ a good idea and could hardly be considered the ‘right thing.’ “Now, what was that about a litter?” he asked to distract Cas, automatically placing his hand on Cas’ pup bump and stroking softly. Should there really be more than one pup in there? That would be awesome!

He would have to buy another onesie… Which reminded him…

“Got something for our little one.” Maybe the cute bee motif would cheer Cas right up.

* * *

When the doorbell rang early the next morning, Dean climbed out of bed and let his omega turn over onto his other side and continue snoring softly. He quickly put on a bathrobe and went to answer the door, sure it would be Sammy anyway. He had called him over so that they could strategize about their next steps. And to ask him to be the godfather of their pup.

Instead, some alpha stood on his doorstep, looking Dean up and down with disdain. “You’re not as tall as I thought.”

“I’m sorry, and you are…?”

“Here to pick up my mate,” the alpha said.

“Michael,” Dean growled.

Michael was still sizing him up, probably trying to figure out whether he could take him in a fight. Just let him—Dean would _love_ to get a chance to get in a few good licks.

“So, you’re the one who thinks he can just go around and breed my mate?” Michael said and his arrogant, nasal voice was already grating on Dean’s nerves.

He ground his teeth, holding his alpha back from attacking.

Instead, he said, “He’s not your mate,” and tried to close the door in his face, but Michael took a quick step forward so that he was now standing in the doorway.

“Our mating bond was only broken because he was infertile. Now that it turns out that he is able to conceive after all, the reason for breaking the bond is void. Legally, we are still mates.”

Dean huffed a humorless laugh. _Michael_ of all people had the nerve to talk about what was legal?! “You had him _branded_ and let some alphas burn his scent gland!” Dean hissed. “For no ‘legal’ reason whatsoever as it turns out.”

“Infertile omegas are to be branded,” Michael retorted, sounding almost bored by the argument. “That’s the law. I’m just a law-abiding citizen, you can’t hold that against me.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and hold that against you. You don’t sell out your mate. That’s like mates 101. And you _especially _can’t come waltzing back and think you have _any_ right to him.”

The sound of the bedroom door opening made both of them look up. Michael was looking over Dean’s shoulder, and when Dean turned around to follow his gaze, he already knew what he would see. Cas, sleep-rumpled, in his PJs, staring wide-eyed at Michael.


	8. Chapter 8

Protective instincts kicked in immediately and they were firing on all cylinders. Dean took a step to the side so that he was blocking Cas from Michael’s view and he gave a warning growl.

The scent of scared omega made him want to charge at Michael and at the same time go to Cas and reassure him that he was safe and everything would be okay.

Michael had taken a step to the side as well so that he could look at Cas again when he said, “Castiel—come here, we’re going home.”

The scent of scared omega intensified.

“You don’t talk to him!” Dean barked, blocking Michael’s attempt at moving further into the room.

Michael ignored him and kept looking at Cas. “You know I don’t like to ask twice.”

“Cas, go back into the bedroom, I’ve got this,” Dean said, never taking his eyes off of Michael, trying to sound reassuring and calm even as his ears were rushing and he could feel his alpha trying to take over.

Dean heard Cas do what he had said without hesitation, which calmed his alpha down a bit—his omega was at least not in the same room anymore. He was as safe as he could be for now.

“Comfortable ordering my mate around, are you?” Michael asked, his eyes trained on the closed bedroom door.

Dean’s senses were on high alert, ready to pounce at any second, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

“_Ex_-mate. And not as comfortable as you.”

“Once a mate, always a mate,” Michael said. “We can refresh that mating bite and it will be as if the bond had never been broken.”

“You’re the one who threw him away like yesterday’s garbage! You’re not welcome here—_ever_! Now get out or I call the cops.”

Michael glared at him for a moment. Then he said, “You better say goodbye to him if you don’t want anything bad to happen to him or that pup he’s carrying.”

That was _it_! No one could expect his alpha to stay calm and collected when someone was flat out _threatening_ his family.

Dean saw red. One second, he was staring at Michael’s stupid mug, the next he had punched him right in the nose. Michael staggered back a few steps. He bared his teeth at Dean, but he didn’t come at him. Like all bullies, he wasn’t up to putting his money where his mouth was as soon as he had met his match.

“You stay the hell away from them!” Dean snarled.

“You’ll hear from my lawyer,” Michael said and then finally turned around to leave.

“Not if you hear from ours first!” Dean called after him and then slammed the door shut for good measure.

He took a couple of deep breaths to calm down so that he wouldn’t smell like angry alpha before he went into their bedroom.

Cas was sitting on the bed, shaking uncontrollably, and Dean quickly hurried to him and took him into his arms, rocking them back and forth.

“He’s gone,” he said, rubbing a hand soothingly up and down Cas’ back. “You’re safe.”

Cas was stroking over his pup bump. His protective instincts had to have kicked in, too, leaving him confused and scared for his pups. You didn’t mess with a pregnant omega, after all. “Don’t let him take us,” he said, his voice small.

Dean felt his heart break. “Cas…” Surely he knew by now how much he meant to Dean. That there was nothing in the world that could ever take Cas away from him. “I will _never_ let anyone take you if you don’t _want_ to go.”

“Good.” Cas sniffled a bit and then loosened his grip on Dean so that he could look at him. “Because I would never want to go.”

Only when Dean’s heart did a strange little skip did Dean realize that he had been dying to hear that. Since Cas hadn’t reacted favorably to Dean’s attempts at touching his mating gland, he might have had concerns about how sure Cas was about them.

The moment was broken when the doorbell rang.

That better not be the douchenozzle again. Dean told Cas to stay in the bedroom just as a precaution as he went to open the door.

But it was only Sam.

“Wow, your timing sucks,” Dean greeted him. “You couldn’t have been here ten minutes ago?”

“Cas called me,” Sam explained as he stepped inside. “He okay?”

Huh. Dean was weirdly proud of his omega for having kept a clear head and doing the smart thing even when he had been scared for himself and his pups.

“A bit shaken up,” Dean said and then called for Cas that it was safe to come out.

* * *

Five minutes later, they were sitting in the living room and Dean had talked himself into a rage.

“There’s no way I’m gonna let him take my omega and my pups away from me!” he told Sam, who had just spouted off some legal mumbo jumbo.

“Dean, calm down,” Sam said and then stopped short. “Wait—did you just say _pups_?”

“Yeah, there might be more than one in there.” Dean motioned towards Cas’ belly. “Keep up. Anyway, they’re _my_ pups, he’s _my_ omega, how come Michael has _any_ legal right to them?”

“Well… Cas is not really your omega, though,” Sam threw in, which made Dean narrow his eyes at his brother. How dare he—Cas _so_ was his omega! “I mean, if you had gotten mated in the meantime, maybe…”

“What?” Dean interrupted him. “This is about mating bureaucracy? Well then. Problem solved.” He turned towards Cas. “Let’s get mated.”

Cas, who hadn’t said a lot since their little powwow had started, looked up at that. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” he said hesitantly.

Dean was left gaping at him. He was a bit hurt by the rejection, but also a lot miffed.

“Are you serious right now?! Even though the choice is between me and… and _him_…” He wasn’t even able to come up with a suitable insult. “…you _still_ don’t want to get mated to me?”

His angry tone of voice made Cas’ expression turn furious, too, his eyes glinting dangerously, as he retorted, “What do you mean, ‘still’? You never wanted to get mated _before_.”

That was such a ridiculous claim, that Dean was taken aback for a moment.

“Uhm… yes I did. About a _thousand_ times. Every time I even get _close_ to your mating gland, you push me away.”

This time it was Cas who looked dumbfounded for a second before he could reply. “_That_ was your way of asking to get mated?! Trying to cop a feel of my mating gland?”

“Well, it’s a _mating _gland. That’s what it’s _for_.”

Before Cas could say anything to that, Sam interrupted by clearing his throat. “Well, you certainly have the bickering like mates part down. So…” he started.

“Does this _look_ like a good time to interrupt us?” Dean asked, turning his glare on his brother.

Sam held his hands up and muttered, “Just trying to help…”

“Sam,” Cas said calmly. “If an alpha never even so much as mentions mating during or after courting, would you assume he’s interested in getting mated?”

“Uhm… I really don’t think I should…”

“You’re not getting the whole picture here,” Dean interrupted him. “If that alpha repeatedly tries nibbling on the omega’s mating gland and the omega physically pushes him away—”

“I didn’t want you to see the mating scar!” Cas snapped. “The reminder that I was mated to another alpha is not exactly a turn on.”

“Ooo-kay.” Sam carefully took a step back. “This really seems like it’s mate talk. I’m just going to…” And then he just walked away, apparently seeking shelter in the kitchen, closing the door for good measure.

“So,” Dean said once they were alone.

“So. You might see how I don’t think getting back at Michael is the best reason for getting mated.”

Dean had to hold back a sigh. This omega was even more stubborn now that he was pregnant. It’s part of what he loved about him, but it could be rather aggravating at times, too.

“I just told you: it’s not because of Michael. Just yesterday I tried to get you to bare your neck when we were being intimate, remember?”

“Yes, because you have a neck fetish,” Cas deadpanned.

“What?!”

“You _always_ go for my neck during intercourse.”

“Yes, we just established that. Because I want to make you mine for real. It’s hardly a fetish if an alpha wants to mark his omega.”

Finally, Cas’ chin lost the stubborn tilt, and the omega seemed to consider what Dean had just said. “Oh,” he finally uttered. “You—really? You’d really want to mate me? Not just to protect me from Michael?”

“Yes!” Finally, he was getting through to him.

But having been turned down through actions again and again, Dean really needed to hear Cas say that he’d want that, too.

“So… am I, like, alpha enough for you to consider me as a mate?” he asked, hating the fact that his voice was nowhere near as casual as he had gone for.

A huge smile spread across Cas’ face. “You’re such a stupid alpha,” he said, but his voice was soft and teasing at the same time. He took a step closer and pulled Dean’s head towards his. “Of course I would love to mate you.” And then he closed the gap and pulled Dean into a gentle kiss.

For the first time, he didn’t shy away when Dean carefully brushed his thumb over his mating gland.

“Finally!” Sam yelled from the kitchen.

“Stop eavesdropping, perv!” Dean yelled back and then promptly continued kissing his omega some more, too elated to stay mad at spying little brothers for long.


	9. Chapter 9

That evening when they were having sex, Dean tried to go for Cas’ mating gland once again. This time, finally, Cas bared his neck.

But apparently, the universe didn’t want them to get mated.

First, it took a while until Cas was even slick enough for Dean to mount him. Then, Dean’s dick almost didn’t find its way inside. When he was finally fucking into his omega and simultaneously nibbling on his mating gland, Cas’ scent suddenly turned scared and he stopped moving, listening intently.

“Did you hear that?” he asked.

“No,” Dean replied and wanted to go back to making love to Cas, but the omega stopped him when he started to set up the rhythm again.

“I think I heard something,” Cas whispered. “What if Michael came back?”

“Well, he can’t just march in here. Our door is locked,” Dean appeased him and started moving once more, fucking in and out of Cas a couple of times.

But the scent of scared omega was still there, and finally, Dean pulled out of Cas, searched for his pants and pulled them up so that he could go take a look to see if there were any intruders.

As predicted, there was no one inside of their apartment.

“I’m sorry,” Cas said meekly when Dean climbed back into bed with him. “I thought I had heard something.”

“That’s just your protective instincts looking out for our pups,” Dean explained, put his hand on Cas’ belly and leaned in for a kiss.

Touching his future mate’s naked, pup-filled stomach got him ready to go again, but for omegas, it took a bit more to get back into the mood once their slick production had been interrupted.

So, they ended up cuddling instead, which was something Dean’s alpha was totally on board with because the scent of his scared omega made him want to embrace him and show him that Dean was a strong alpha who would be able to protect Cas from anything.

Maybe rushing it wasn’t for the best. As Cas had said, ‘getting back at Michael’ wasn’t the ideal motivation for a mating. Dean would have liked to at least get a claiming bite on Cas to be safe, but he’d have to trust Sam to get that restraining order he was working on, and in the meantime, it was Dean’s job to make sure he could get Cas into the mood to get mated.

Mating hormones played an important role, and the omega wouldn’t start producing them unless he felt safe and ready.

A romantic, sensual massage maybe. A nice dinner first, love confessions with words and actions, some playful teasing later in bed, bringing Cas to orgasm multiple times before he would turn his attention to his mating gland…

“I’m sorry if I let you down,” Cas interrupted his thoughts. “We can try again tomorrow.”

“Hey, no rush,” Dean said, stroking his back in a soothing motion. “And you could never let me down.” He followed that statement up by placing a kiss to Cas’ forehead to make sure the omega knew how loved he was.

“But there_ is_ a rush,” Cas disagreed. “What if Michael—”

“I’m not letting him take you no matter if we’re mated or not. Okay?”

Cas sighed. “He’s just… You shouldn’t underestimate him, that’s all. You don’t know him. He always gets what he wants.”

“Not this time,” Dean countered. “This time, we get what we want.”

* * *

Cas had wanted to believe Dean so badly, but of course, he should have known better. After all, he never got what he wanted. The time with Dean had been the best of his life, but of course it couldn’t last.

This hadn’t been the last he’d heard from Michael.

The very next day, when Dean was working at the garage, Cas got a text message from his ex-mate. He should have blocked that number. But shortly after their mating bond had been broken and hormones had made Cas believe that with his mate he had just lost any chance at being loved, Cas had stared at his phone for hours, waiting desperately for Michael to get in touch with him. Of course, he never had—until now.

It was a photo of Dean at the garage, handing an omega scent blockers. Cas’ heart started pounding frantically in his chest when he scrolled down to read the message that had been sent along with it.

_Such a pretty alpha. Would be a shame to see him in prison._

* * *

Cas was pacing up and down in Sam’s office, trying to think of a way out of this situation.

“Cas—calm down,” Sam said. He was sitting behind his desk, watching Cas pace. “Do you want me to call Dean?”

That got Cas to stop short for a moment, if only to glare at Sam. “No, I don’t want you to call Dean, otherwise I would have called Dean myself and not come here.”

“Okay, just checking,” Sam mumbled. “Look, you can’t even _see_ anything in this photo,” he added, looking back down at Cas’ cell phone. “That’s a picture of an alpha handing a beta a bag. Good luck convincing anyone that there’s anything illegal going on there.”

Cas sighed and finally sat down on the chair Sam had offered him earlier. Time to come clean. “That’s not all. Sam—I don’t know how he found out…” He threw a look over his shoulder at the closed door, then turned back around and leaned closer to Sam to whisper, “He knows you’re an omega.”

Instead of the panicked reaction Cas had expected, Sam just scratched his nose. “Okay, we can use this. He’s harassing an alpha and his family here. This might actually help me with that restraining order.”

Cas could do nothing but gape at him. How could he stay so calm?! Cas was _freaking out_ over here.

When Sam saw his expression, he explained, “He has _nothing_. He’s bluffing. He can’t just go around accusing people of being omegas willy-nilly. And as for Dean, even _if_ he could prove anything, that would be a first offense and since he’s an alpha, he’d get away with a slap on the wrist. It would be more difficult to continue doing what we’ve been doing, but there’s no way Dean would be sent to prison over selling one bottle of scent blockers.”

“He’s sold considerably more than one bottle,” Cas countered, even though Sam’s little speech had done the trick and gotten him to calm down a little.

His stomach was still in knots, but he didn’t feel as helpless as he had when he had arrived at Sam’s office, close to tears.

“Again, let Michael prove that,” Sam replied.

Feeling himself get emotional in the face of Sam’s kindness, Cas found himself telling him his fears, “He says he wants me back and he wants me to pretend they’re his pups. I don’t think he’s just going to take no for an answer.”

Sam reached over to put his hands on top of Cas’ and said, “We’re going to _make_ him take no for an answer. We—wait. How do you know all of this?”

“I called him, of course.”

“You _called_ him?” Sam repeated, letting go of his hands. He was clearly mad.

“Don’t worry,” Cas quickly reassured him. “I didn’t admit to anything, I just asked him what he wanted.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about, Cas.”

If Cas didn’t know any better, he’d say Sam was protective of him. But omegas weren’t protective of other omegas. Unless they were pack of course. Cas would definitely be protective of his pups, no matter their secondary gender designation.

“Okay, first, we’re going to block his number,” Sam decided, already pushing some buttons on Cas’ phone. “And you will never call him again or talk to him without me present. That’s what a lawyer is for, you know?”

Apparently having successfully blocked the number, Sam looked up at Cas. When Cas realized that he was waiting for an answer, he said, “Yes.”

“Good. Should we call Dean now?” Sam asked, already reaching for his phone.

“No,” Cas quickly said, which made Sam stop short and raise his eyebrows. “He can get very protective,” Cas explained. “If he knew, he’d want to rip Michael’s head off. Maybe we should keep this to ourselves for now.”

Sam was staring at him intently, and Cas had to lower his gaze, unable to look into those kind eyes much longer.

“That’s not really the reason you don’t want to tell him, is it?” Sam asked, voice soft. “You’re scared he’d send you away.”

“No, that’s not…”

“Cas…”

“He would do anything for you!” Cas blurted out. His little brother meant the world to Dean. If he knew that Cas was responsible for putting him in danger…

“And Dean and I would both do anything for _you_.”

Caught off guard, Cas looked up at that.

“Don’t look so surprised,” Sam said. “That’s my nieces or nephews you’re carrying. We’re a pack.”

“Dean and I aren’t even mated yet,” Cas mumbled, thinking back to their failed attempt at mating, and feeling himself blush at the memory.

“Doesn’t matter. We’re still pack.”

They fell silent for a moment. This day had been quite an emotional roller coaster.

Heaving a sigh, Cas asked, “Now what?”

“Now we tell Dean.”

Sam raised his eyebrows at Cas again, a silent question, and this time, Cas gave a slight nod.


	10. Chapter 10

Before they could call Dean, Cas’ cell phone started ringing. Sam frowned down at it and then looked up to ask, “Gabe?”

Oh.

“That’s my brother.”

He had kind of been dodging his calls lately. Okay, that was an understatement, it might have been a few months. He hadn’t wanted to jinx it by telling him about Dean and then about the big news. Living in that bubble of happiness had been great, but he had known all along it would end. He had wanted to hang on to it for as long as he could.

Sam handed the cell phone over and as soon as Cas had pressed the button to accept the call, Gabe’s voice already filled his ears, “_I have to find out that I’m going to be an uncle from _Michael_ of all people?_”

He was yelling, so Cas held the phone a bit farther away. Sam could probably hear everything Gabe was yelling so Cas shrugged at him apologetically.

“_And what were you doing having heat sex with him anyway after everything he put you through? Not that I’m not thrilled about the pup. But Michael, really? You know that he’s been with another omega for a while now, trying to knock him up? By the way, you might expect a call from mother dear. Michael is telling _everyone_._”

Mother? She had been the one to break off any contact after the shame he had brought upon the family.

_Useless._

_Disgrace._

_Don’t ever show your face again._

“I can’t deal with this right now,” Cas decided and handed over his cell phone back to Sam, who looked a bit stunned at first but then put Gabe on speaker and told him that Cas was not interested in talking to him right now.

“_Who the hell is this?_” Gabe asked.

“Uhm… the other uncle? You know, from the alpha’s side.”

There was a pause at the other line. Then Gabe mused, “_What does that make us then? Cousins?_”

Cas remembered that Sam had never interacted with Gabe before and thus had no idea what he was in for. Sam probably took what Gabe was saying at face value, and so he replied, “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“_Wait, you’re _Michael’s_ brother?_” Gabe then asked, latching onto something else. “_Since when does Michael have a brother?_”

“No, I’m _Dean’s_ brother,” Sam corrected him.

“_That doesn’t really clear things up, cuz._”

“We are _not_ cousins.” Oh good. They had reached the part where Gabe was starting to annoy _Sam_ instead of him. “Cas will call you back,” Sam decided and hung up on Gabe’s, “_Don’t you dare—_”

⁂

It took Dean just over ten minutes to get there, which, considering that it was a twenty-minute drive, didn’t fill Cas with confidence that Dean had respected the traffic rules.

“I’m gonna rip his throat out!” Dean snarled when Sam had filled in the details he’d left out in the phone call. “I’m serious—if you’re not getting him behind bars anytime soon…” He trailed off and then whirled around on Cas. “Wait—how come you told Sam before you told _me_? I’m your alpha! You got someone threatening you, you call _me_.”

“Dean…” Sam started.

“I can protect you,” Dean insisted, his voice breaking on the word ‘protect.’

“I didn’t doubt that,” Cas mumbled. He knew how important it was for alphas to know their omegas felt safe with them, and he hated that he had made Dean question that. He did feel safe and loved with him like he never had with Michael and he hadn’t had the intention of making Dean think otherwise.

“Kinda seems to me like you doubted me.” Dean’s voice sounded angry, but his scent full of worry and fear gave him away. Covering up his own insecurities with bluster wasn’t uncommon for Dean, but Cas was attuned to his scent more than anyone else and could call his bluff with ease each and every time.

“Okay, let’s just all calm down,” Sam started, but Cas’ phone pinged again at that moment, for the umpteenth time, and Dean’s eyes flashed red for a moment. There might be a bit anger in the mix somewhere too, but Cas knew that it was directed at Michael.

“Is that him?” Dean asked, trying to get a look at Cas’ phone.

“No, that’s my brother. He wants to meet the alpha who fathered my pups.”

As always when they were talking about the pups, Dean’s expression turned soft, his fury about Michael apparently forgotten if only for a moment.

He sidled up to Cas so that he could give his belly a quick fondle before scenting him—a move that settled both Dean and Cas—and the pups inside of him as well.

That was another thing. Even when Dean was pretend-mad at him, he never forgot to let his instincts that told him to protect and cherish Cas take over, making sure that Cas was provided for with everything he needed. And right now, Cas really needed a reassuring scenting.

After all, he started to feel exhausted from all the excitement, so he leaned against his alpha, enjoying the proximity and Dean putting and arm around him to pull Cas against him, stroking up and down his arm.

Cas in return tried to reassure Dean too by scenting and cuddling back because that’s what their relationship was all about. A give and take to make each other happy. The complete opposite to how things had worked with Michael. When Michael had been mad at him, he had withheld scentings and hadn’t touched him until Cas’ omega had started to feel rejected.

“Of course I feel safe with you,” he told Dean now, whispering because that moment was just for them, even though Sam was still in the room (trying to give them as much privacy as possible by pretending to move around paperwork on his desk).

The change in Dean’s scent told him that that had been the right thing to say.

“You should invite him,” Dean suggested. “Your brother.”

Cas extracted himself from their embrace so that he could frown at Dean. “Right now? With everything that’s going on?”

“Sure. The more people we have on our side, the better. Plus, he can help out. You need rest. No more worrying for you. Just leave the stressful stuff to Sam and me and Gabe.” He raised his eyebrows as if waiting for Cas to agree. But Cas wasn’t quite sure. Gabe could be a whirlwind of cosmic proportions and he really didn’t want Dean and Sam to hate him.

When Cas didn’t say anything, Dean continued, “You’ve been wanting to tell him for a while anyway, right? And your instincts have to tell you by now that you want your pack nearby.”

That was the moment Cas realized that he couldn’t really fool Dean, either. He might have mentioned something about telling Gabe once in passing, but of course Dean would see right through him and figure out how much it would actually mean to him to have the support of his family. Well, the only member of the family that mattered in any case.

“You’re my pack,” Cas mumbled staring right into Dean’s eyes and then glancing at Sam to include him in the statement as well because he had been the one kind enough to accept him too even without the mating bite to prove it yet.

“I know,” Dean said, smiling at him with such adoration in his eyes that Cas felt his heart flutter as if they were still falling in love. “But he’s your pack too.”

And it was things like these, when Dean found just the right thing to say, that Cas knew that in a way, he _was_ still falling in love with this alpha, over and over until his heart felt like it might burst with the affection he had for him.


	11. Chapter 11

Dean was whistling while checking the engine on an old sedan at the garage. Cas had just called to tell him that Sam had gotten the restraining order. Apparently, Michael’s creepy behavior of stalking another alpha had been enough to get a judge to sign it.

Plus, Gabe would arrive in time for dinner, and they had invited Sam too, to get the pack together, get to know each other.

“Dean?” Garth came in just as Dean was finishing up with the sedan. “There’s some old lady looking for you.”

“Yeah? We’re just about to close.” Dean didn’t want to be too late for when Gabe arrived. After all, he wanted to make a good impression on the one person from Cas’ old life whose opinion seemed to matter to him.

Garth shrugged. “I told her that. She’s very… persistent.”

So Dean wiped his hands on an old rag and went to get rid of whoever wanted him to do overtime.

The ‘old lady’ turned out to be a female alpha. She was wearing a business suit, and had short, platinum blonde hair. All in all, she didn’t seem like the typical clientele here at _Winchester Auto Repair_.

“Hiya. What can I do you for?”

The woman looked him up and down, obviously not impressed by what she saw, which was just fine with Dean. The sooner he got rid of her, the sooner he could close up and go home. But the woman glanced at Garth and said, “Is there a place we can talk more privately?

Dean had to suppress the urge to sigh. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really be too rude to customers or else word-of-mouth would spread, so Dean motioned for her to follow him and led her into his office.

As soon as the door was closed, the woman turned her icy stare on him. “Naomi Novak. You know my son if I am informed correctly.”

Even though Dean had taken an instant dislike to this alpha, his disdain for her increased tenfold when he heard who it was he was speaking to. He had to fight every instinct in his body not to charge at her. This was the woman who had told Cas that he wasn’t pack anymore the second he had been branded as an omega who couldn’t have an alpha’s pups. What kind of a mother did that to her own son?

Attempting to keep it professional and not get into an alpha fight with the woman who was, technically, his future mother-in-law, he grit his teeth and said, “Uhm… if this isn’t business-related, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

“Oh, it’s business-related,” Naomi replied. “I couldn’t help but notice that you’re a…” She looked him up and down in that judgmental way again. “…lowly mechanic.”

“Excuse me?”

But Naomi didn’t pay him any mind and went on, “I am prepared to offer you quite a sum of money to let my son go. He should return to the mate he was supposed to spend his life with.”

It was getting harder by the second to hold his alpha back. He was clutching the edge of his desk tightly to keep him back from ripping her apart.

“I’m doing well, thank you,” he said instead, trying to keep his voice from trembling in anger. “If you haven’t noticed the _Winchester _in _Winchester Auto Repair_—this is _my_ garage. So, I can provide for him just fine.”

Naomi raised one eyebrow. “Five hundred thousand dollars.”

“Are you for real? That’s the price for your son’s happiness?”

“Happiness!” Naomi spat. “What do you know of it? You can’t give him the life he deserves.”

“Yeah? What kind of life does he deserve? One where he’s being abused by an alpha you deem ‘worthy’? One where he’s kicked out of his pack as soon as you think he’s ‘broken’?” Naomi looked almost stunned for the first time, so Dean snorted. “Yeah, that’s right. I know that you’re the one who got that into his head. And thanks for that. Took a long time to show him just how wrong you were.”

Naomi opened her mouth, undoubtedly to spout some other nonsense, but Dean had had enough. “No! You didn’t want him in your pack anymore. Guess what, he has a new pack now. One that actually cares about him not about some stupid mating politics. So, keep your money, because we sure as hell don’t want it.”

⁂

When Dean came home, Cas was making the couch ready for when Gabe arrived.

“Hey, I told you _I_’d do that,” Dean protested.

Cas rolled his eyes. “I am not an invalid. Besides, I’m already finished.”

“Damn, does that mean no sitting down on the couch anymore?” Dean asked, looking at the blanket covering the pulled-out couch.

He would prefer Cas comfortably sitting down before he told him about his encounter with Naomi. But maybe their nest was a better choice for that conversation anyway, so he led Cas there despite his protests that they should start making dinner for their guests.

“We’ll just order takeout,” he said as he pushed Cas into their nest and joined him, making sure he was comfortable and safe so that he wouldn’t get too agitated by what Dean was about to tell him.

His trick worked. Cas didn’t get upset.

“Thanks for standing up for me,” he simply said, baring his neck in gratitude.

Dean accepted the offer and quickly scented him before saying, “There is absolutely no reason to thank me for that. You’re my omega. I’ll always stand up for you.”

“I still think you should’ve taken the five hundred thousand.”

“Cas…”

“What? We could have just taken the money and ignored her stipulations.”

Dean grinned, shook his head fondly at that ridiculous statement, and went in for another quick scenting, nudging against Cas’ neck until his nose found the scarred tissue of the scent gland and he could take a deep breath.

It took him a moment to realize that the scent had turned sweeter, indicating that mating hormones were at work. This was a good opportunity. His omega was feeling no stress, was, in fact, feeling comfy and ready to be mated.

“Hey, Cas, you wanna…”

Before he could finish the question, the doorbell rang.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Dean swore. “He’s way too early.”

⁂

Cas had been sure Dean had been just about to place that long-hoped-for mating bite on him. He had been in a good mood ever since he had gotten the call from Sam telling him that the restraining order had been granted.

Then, when Dean had told him about Naomi’s attempt to buy him off, Cas realized that he hadn’t doubted for a second what Dean’s answer would have been. She could have offered him millions and the answer would have been the same.

That’s when he realized: this was what trusting someone felt like.

Then, the mood had suddenly shifted. With Dean scenting him and Cas feeling safe and snuggly in their nest, it might have led to Dean mounting him or even biting him. Probably a combination of both.

But of course, that’s when they had to get interrupted.

Cas hadn’t seen Gabe in such a long time that he couldn’t dwell on the missed mating opportunity, though. He was really excited to see his brother again.

Of course, he should have known how embarrassing big brothers could be.

“Congrats on knocking up my brother,” was literally the first thing he said to Dean, punching him lightly in the arm.

“My pleasure,” Dean answered, giving Cas one of his charming smiles, and Cas knew that he was in for an evening of teasing and trying to keep his brother from telling embarrassing stories about him.

But that was okay. That’s what packs were all about and Cas couldn’t believe his luck that he had found one who accepted him just for who he was.

Things only got worse teasing-wise when Sam arrived. They were comfortable with each other right off the bat and soon enough, they were bickering like brothers. Sam was, understandably, proud for having obtained the restraining order against such a powerful alpha, whereas Gabe thought that it had taken him way too long.

“Oh yeah? Didn’t see _you_ getting a restraining order against Michael,” Sam said.

“Do I look like a lawyer to you?”

“No, you look like the smallest alpha I’ve ever seen.”

“And you look like a moose.”

“Moose are majestic animals,” Cas threw in and all eyes turned to him. “I’m just saying, you should take it as a compliment.”

Sam seemed a bit unsure about what to say, but settled on, “Thanks, Cas.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side, Cassie,” Gabe complained.

“Actually, we’re all on the same side here,” Dean reminded them and then the conversation turned to plans for when the pups were there.

Cas sure had missed this—the normalcy of it all. Of belonging to a pack and being treated as an equal member of said pack. It felt nice. Like he finally really, truly, belonged.


	12. Chapter 12

Having Gabe as a houseguest required some getting used to at first. For one, getting mated with his brother right in the next room was kind of a challenge. Dean didn’t feel great about Gabe listening to them having sex and the one time they tried doing it quietly failed, so they agreed to suggest Gabe take a hotel instead. After all, no one could have anticipated that Gabe would just… stay for an apparently indefinite amount of time.

Gabe wanted to ‘help out,’ though, which mostly meant sit around, eat their food and occupy their couch. Well, that was family for you, so Cas looked at Dean, shrugged his shoulders apologetically and that was that.

Putting off their mating plans, Dean instead got into the habit of placing a kiss to Cas’ mating gland every night before they went to sleep, which was supposed to be a promise of sorts, but which just gave Cas the giddy feeling of already being mated to Dean because it just… felt like it.

⁂

A light scratch to his mating gland woke him up. Their nest felt so cozy and homey that Cas kept his eyes closed, his nose pressed into one of the pillows that was covered in Dean’s scent.

He sighed contently and let his alpha nibble on his mating gland to get it ready for a bite.

If Dean had changed his mind and wanted to get that mating bite on him even with Gabe in the other room—well, then Cas was more than okay with that. He’d give his best to stay quiet.

The moment the teeth dug in further, Cas’ nose picked up on something even through his Dean-scented pillow that made his blood run cold. He immediately tried to get away, but the teeth had a lock on him, and a low growl told him to stay put.

⁂

Dean was in a fight to the death with another alpha in his dream when he woke with a start, feeling Cas struggling next to him, the scent of his omega in distress only covered by the scent of a strange alpha.

He was up immediately, seeing red—probably literally—ready to fight off the intruder. He pounced on him with a roar, getting him off of Cas, who whimpered because the son of a bitch had had a hold on his neck.

The alpha fought back, but Dean was having none of it, giving as good as he got.

The bedside lamp got turned on and Cas was out of the bed too, yelling for Gabe.

When Dean recognized Michael in the dim light, a new surge of anger overcame him and he fought even harder to overpower him, but Michael was quick to evade his attacks and was fighting dirty.

Dean was vaguely aware of Cas talking on the phone, probably calling the cops, but he was still in the middle of an alpha fight, so he couldn’t pay attention to what was going on.

He just had him by the neck when out of the corner of his eye, he saw something swinging their way and he let go of Michael’s neck and ducked out of the way just in time for the frying pan to hit Michael over the head.

The other alpha went down with an ‘oomph’ and Dean took advantage of the situation and subdued Michael, even though the alpha kept struggling in a failed attempt to get Dean off him.

He looked up to see Gabe, who was still holding the frying pan, walk over to Cas, obviously worried for his brother, but Cas was already rummaging through the nightstand and got out a rope, which he tossed to Dean.

“Do I want to know…” Gabe began, but was interrupted by a terse “Shut up!” from Cas, who waddled over to try and help Dean tie up Michael, ignoring his growled “Get off me!” and “You’ll regret this!”

Finally, they had him secured so that Dean could get up. That’s when he got a look at Cas’ neck. The skin seemed to have been pierced a little bit.

Michael had to have followed his line of sight because a haughty grin spread across his face. “Seems like you’re too late,” he said. “He’s mine now.”

Dean punched him in the face and finally, he was out for the count.

“Are you…” Dean began, but couldn’t say it.

“I don’t know,” Cas said, looking spooked. “I don’t… _feel_ mated to him. Did he…” He touched his neck and looked at his hand. “Oh.”

There was only a drop of blood—but one drop was enough.

Dean went over to him and pulled him into his arms. “That’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”

He placed a kiss to the top of Cas’ head in an attempt to calm him. When that didn’t work, he turned to Gabe and tried to lighten the mood with a jibe, “You would not make a good guard dog, that’s for sure!”

“You know I’m a heavy sleeper,” Gabe retorted, a bit miffed.

“_How_ would I know that?”

“Uhm… I’ve been _living_ with you guys for six days now? Way to be perceptive.” He turned to Cas and shook his head, whispering while motioning towards Dean, “This guy!”

“Wait—so we could’ve had loud sex and you wouldn’t even have known?”

“Dean…” Cas cut in, bringing him back to what was important. His plan to take Cas’ mind off of things had worked a bit too well on himself, it seemed.

“Right.” He turned to Gabe. “Let’s just get a disinfectant and… you called the cops, right?”

Before Cas could answer, the police arrived and all of a sudden, their apartment was full of police officers asking questions and medics who were taking a look at Cas’ neck.

⁂

Cas let himself be poked and prodded without feeling any of it. At some point, Sam arrived—Dean had to have called him—and Cas saw him talking to the police as well.

Dean had to leave his side for a while to give his own statement of the events, which only made Cas more restless when the medics used some sort of new device on him that was supposed to tell them within minutes whether the mating bite had taken.

They stayed in the bedroom, while Dean, Sam and Gabe were talking to the police officers in the kitchen, and Cas already missed his alpha’s calming presence, even though his scent was all over the room.

One of the medics, Anna, who was pushing some buttons on the device, furrowed her brows. “Hormone levels clearly show that you are mated,” she said, and Cas felt his stomach drop.

The mating bond obviously hadn’t fully formed yet because he felt nothing for Michael but contempt. All he was yearning for right now was to have Dean by his side. But soon he would start craving Michael’s closeness. Dean would be devastated.

Anna kept pushing buttons on the device and Cas sank down onto the bed, onto Dean’s and his nest, whose scent would soon make him feel uncomfortable rather than safe and a place he never wanted to leave.

Last time, the broken mating bond had almost killed him. Going through it with the pups on the way would be unbearable. And that was if breaking it was even an option.

“This is strange,” Anna mumbled and waved another medic over.

Before Cas could ask about it, he heard raised voices outside the bedroom door.

“I’ve answered enough questions. My brother can take it from here. I can smell my omega freaking out through the door, so you better let me through.”

Seconds later, the door opened, and Cas immediately felt his panic recede when Dean sat down next to him and took his hand.

“He broke skin,” Cas told him, gesturing towards the bite that was now covered with a Band-Aid.

“I know,” Dean said, and then repeated what he’d said earlier, “We’ll figure it out.”

“I was just about to say,” Anna said, “The bite had no chance of creating a mating bond since the omega was already mated.”

“What?” Dean asked.

“Wait—so, the bite _didn’t_ take?” Cas asked at the same time as Dean demanded clarification, “What do you _mean_ ‘already mated’?”

“Well,” Anna looked between them. “Mr. Novak here has been mated for, I’d say three, four days at least. You… weren’t aware of that?”

Unbelievable relief washed over Cas. There was no mating bond between him and Michael forming against his will.

“No one even _bit_ him,” Dean said, a bit unnerved from the tone of it. Then he turned to Cas. “No alpha bit you, right?”

Cas rolled his eyes. “I think you would have realized if some alpha had mated me!”

“There,” Dean said, turning back to Anna. “Do your doohickeys work?”

“I’m assuming you’ve never heard of biteless matings?” the male medic asked.

Dean snorted. When the medic looked unimpressed, his eyes widened. “For real? But… the definition of a mating is an alpha biting an omega. That’s why it’s called a ‘mating bite.’”

“It’s the most efficient way, yes,” Anna replied. “Certainly the most common one. But not the only one.”

Cas thought back to all the times being with Dean had just felt so… right. When it had felt like Dean was his alpha and he was Dean’s omega. But that had gone farther back than a few days. No wonder he hadn’t realized when they had mated for real—they had kind of already been mated for a while.

He timidly looked up at Dean, trying to gauge his reaction.

“Wow. So, we’re…?” Dean asked, gesturing between them, and when Cas nodded, he started laughing.

Anna looked at him as if he had lost his mind, but Cas could understand his giddiness. He and Dean were _mated_! They had _done_ it (albeit without realizing it).

“Excuse him, he’s operating on very little sleep,” Cas explained.

Dean wasn’t as polite. “You better take your gadgets and skedaddle now. ’Cause I’m gonna need some time with my _mate_.”

“Dean…” Cas raised an eyebrow at him and Dean sighed, but got up anyway. “Okay, okay. I’ll show you guys out.”

Once they were alone, Dean quickly sent a text to Sam, who had gone back to the police station with the officers, informing him of the developments. Then they finally had some alone time after all the excitement.

They didn’t have a lot of mate-time, though. They had just scented each other for a bit, trying to recategorize the alluring scent as the scent of ‘mate’ (yes—upon closer scenting, that’s what it smelled like alright), when Sam and Gabe came back.

“And where have _you_ been?” Dean asked Gabe.

“I helped get Michael arrested, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, helped stand in the way,” Sam mumbled.

Ignoring him, Dean got to the point. “What exactly was he arrested for?”

“Breaking and entering, trying to mate an omega without his consent, trying to steal another alpha’s omega, to name a few. By the way, that’s so typical. Only _you_ would end up mated and not even realize it.”

“Seriously,” Gabe agreed. “I can’t wait to tell the story to your pups. ‘Your daddies were just walking around mated, obsessing over how they could get mated.’”

“Yeah, you’re not allowed to talk to them—ever,” Dean declared.

“So… Michael is really behind bars?” Cas asked. He could hardly believe it. “For how long?” Breaking and entering didn’t sound like a serious offense. The other two might work in their favor, though.

“We’re going to pile on some other charges and see what sticks. If we’re doing this right, he’ll go away for a long time. Trying to mate another alpha’s omega is the one that’ll cost him most, probably. But I’ll definitely try to work the unnecessary branding in there…”

“I don’t care what he goes away for,” Cas said. “As long as we’re finally free of him!”

After a beat of silence, Dean spoke up again, “We did it! No one messes with the Winchester Pack!”

“The Novak Pack,” Gabe corrected him.

“Winchester-Novak?” Sam suggested.

“Novak-Winchester,” Gabe countered.

And they were back to behaving like the strange but loving pack they were—whatever the name. Cas couldn’t help but let out the bubbly happiness inside of him with a giggle. There was no danger anymore. He was finally truly safe, mated to the alpha of his dreams.

When three pairs of eyes were locked on him, he put a hand on his stomach and used his go-to excuse these days, “Pregnancy hormones,” which made the others back right off (and start fussing in Dean’s case).

**Author's Note:**

> So this is it. Thanks so much for everyone who has commented on this fic--you're the best!  
As always, comments keep me going. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
> 
> I might post an epilogue soon if there's interest. In the meantime, there'll be an update for some of my other fics soon. Next one to update is problaby "One Flight to Heaven" because the next chapter is already finished. Any preference for what I should update after that?


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